Episode five is all about exploring visual language in cinema, beginning with a deeper look at symbolism and then finishing off with a little about camera usage.

It’s my feeling that visual language, like the written word, is suffering in our present culture, and this is disturbing simply because the broad use of words, or the broad understanding and use of visual language in cinema corresponds to a broad and deep perception of reality. As the language shrinks, or becomes outright lost, so to do ideas and concepts that require language to be conveyed.

The cinema is particularly interesting in regards to language because like a supreme intelligence may do, you have the entire material world to use as a symbol set. You are the creator voice of a divination tool brought to audiences through the medium of a dark room, big screen and first class sound system.

Cinema is complex, and like any great art form, it should be. To master it is likely beyond everyone’s reach, but the pursuit of greater proficiency is irresistible, and to those who have succumbed to it’s attracting power, there is no way out.

Hope you enjoy the podcast, and I look forward to bringing more and varied topics into the fold.

In this episode I’m sharing a process I’ve used for writing my latest screenplay. It’s based on the Trivium, coming from ancient Greek classical education. The Trivium was the first three of seven essential subjects.

After coming across this really useful tool, I eventually saw how I could apply it to screenwriting and so adopted it.

If you find these sessions valuable, consider dropping in to my Patreon page and support the ongoing (and improving) production of the podcast.

Movies are born from ideas, they transmit ideas, and in the end, audiences are left – not with the movie, but with ideas. Therefore, movies really are just another language. Cinema is an exceptional language. So much so, that even after 120 years, we’re hardly touching its power.

To harness the power of cinema, and to harness the power of your own creative process, requires that you understand the nature of ideas, their power, and the ways in which they’re delivered and received.

Feel free to email me any thoughts or questions, and if you’re finding the podcast useful, or enjoyable, please consider contributing something for their continuation and improvement at my Patreon page.

Welcome to Episode Two of ‘Cinema and the Psyche’. This time out we’re talking about the psyche, and for me, this means the individual. I cover a few important aspects of the individual as they relate to the filmmaker and the audience.

A little conspiratorial at times, but always relevant to the point! With cinema we are messing (for want of a better term) with powers beyond our understanding, and the reason for this is because the nature of the individual is beyond our understanding.

Cinema as an art is a mass of elements we’re tasked – as the filmmaker – with controlling. An almost impossible task, but one we can dedicate ourselves to for a lifetime. As audience members it’s imperative that we get to grips with the power our subconscious holds, and then to understand the power cinema has over our subconscious.

So this is the topic of episode two. Please check it out, and if you enjoy the subject matter, give us a like on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, put a review on the iTunes store, or just write with some thoughts, questions or feedback.

Lastly, I’d like to mention a great website called Patreon where artists are finding patrons for their work (renaissance style) so they may continue to improve the world as they believe they can, through support from their audience. I have a Patreon page and ask that you check it out and support the work if you can.

A couple of the topics in the podcast that have links are included below. Until next time…

Intro to ‘Cinema and the Psyche’

Matthew was born in Mississippi and raised in England. He spent many years living and traveling in Europe, soaking up the culture, playing music and writing poetry. Then, with the gravitational pull of a black hole, cinema devoured him.

The podcast is a vehicle for sharing his process and realizations about cinema, the filmmaker and the audience; and their effect on each other.